Energy Audit of Agricultural Enterprises: New Approaches and Assessment Criteria (Following the Russian-Finnish Project Interim Outcomes)

Abstract

Currently implemented project “Russian-Finnish Bioeconomy Competence Сentre – BioCom” within South-East Finland – Russia Cross-Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 aims to integrate the BioEconomy principles and approaches into the agricultural sector of the neighbouring border areas of Russia and Finland. The energy efficiency of farming and sustainable use of energy resources is one of the fundamentals of the bio-economy concept. The energy audit is the first step in identifying opportunities to reduce the energy inputs on the farms.(Research purpose) To discover the new approaches to the energy auditing of agricultural enterprises and new assessment indicators following the project experience.(Materials and methods) Four farms were selected for the energy inspection – two farms located in the Leningrad Region, Russia, and two farms located in the South Savo Region, Finland. In Russia the standard energy auditing, measurement, and calculation procedure was applied. The systems of electrical power supply, heat supply, water supply, sewage, and building envelopes on the farms were examined and estimated.(Results and discussion) Following the outcomes of the energy audits in the project framework and the previous relevant experience, the basic energy-saving and efficiency improvement measures were established. Three new approaches to the energy auditing of agricultural enterprises were suggested – energy and environmental assessment of applied technologies and equipment; consideration of the application of renewable energy-generating sources; consideration of the conversion of vehicles to biogas.(Conclusions) The study outcomes proved the energy audits to play an important role in improving the energy efficiency of agricultural production provided they are mandatory, take into account the energy environmental assessment criteria, consider the application of renewable energy-generating sources and the conversion of vehicles to biogas.

Keywords

• energy survey
• energy saving
• energy efficiency
• energy and environmental assessment
• renewable energy sources